caught



l:tt both the dinner and the tea-table.

@with tette @stent ffirt.

N. w. GAUGHY, or BALTLMORE, MARYLAND. Letters Patent No. 72,365, dated December 17, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT A1N KNIVES.

To ALL WnoM IT MAYooNcnRN:A

Be it known that I, N. W. CAUGY, of Baltimore, in the county of Baltimore, and State of Maryland, have invented a new end useiul Improvement in TableCutlery; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of. the same, reference being had to`v the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which- Figure -1 is a. perspective side view of my invention, und- Figure 2 is a. longitudinal sectionthrough the centre of the instrument, dividing it into two similar parts. Similer'letters of reference indicate corresponding parte in the several iigures. In this invention, the knife or fork is made adjustable and extensible in the handle, rso as to serve for use In the drawings, A' represents the handle and B the blade of im ordinary table-knife. Upon the back of the tang are two or more transverse notch-es, n n. A small slot,`s, in the back of the handle, extends down to the tang. In this slot works a hinged dog, o` pivoted ut one end, and provided at the other with a. tooth, which enters one of the notches/n lnhen the dog is shut down, asfshown in iig. 2, thereby eifectually holding the Vblade in position in the handle.

The back of the dog may be shaped into a neat ornamental plate,'o, silver-ed, and used'as a scrollfor mark ing the knife, if desired. The handle is slifrhtly cut awav at the rear end of the plate o,j so thatthe thumb- C v nail can be inserted far enough under the plate to lift the dog and liberate the blade.

The notches are so situated that the blade may be pulled out,. and confined in the position shown in iig. 2,

for use on the dinner-trible, or may be thrust in, andv fastened in the position shown in fig. 1', 'for use on the tea-table. t v

With this improvement, one set of knives and forks muy be made to subserve the purposes which require two sets, as sucharticles have hitherto been constructed, thereby seviug fty per-cent. of the outlay necessary for table-cutlery. The instrument is easily adjusted, simple, not liable to get out of order, and-not expensive in construction. Should one of the blades or handles become broken o r injured', it may be thrown away, and the handle or bladeused in connection with it be used with another, untilworn out. l A

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-- 'As a. new article of manufacture, a knife, constructed andarranged to operate substantially as herein shown and described.

To the above speciicatiou of my improvement, I have signed my hand, this Erst day of November, 1867.

' N. W. CAUGH'Y. Witnesses:

JAMES PARRIsH, Jenn S. GRASSE. 

